Temporary placement of skilled workers due to planned and unplanned absences or temporary work overloads is critical to our specialized economy. The inherent problem is the tight job market and efficient and accurate placement of those temporary personnel. Absences from work cost employers in lost productivity and sick leave pay. Although temporary workers cannot immediately replace trained professionals, they can provide relief for school, office, or other professions that require a person/s with specific skills or expertise.
In the example of public school districts there is a national shortage of qualified substitute teachers to replace absent teachers/employees. This creates a daily problem for districts and individual schools as they often have to “compete” with neighboring districts, often drawing from a narrow “pool” of common substitutes.
Absences are often unpredictable and may occur any time 7 days a week and 24 hours a day (24/7). It is estimated that in any one day, 5% to 10% of teachers may be absent in the United States. Those school districts which efficiently process absence information and substitute notification/dispatch of job openings, will in most cases place substitutes first therefore providing their students with the best available and qualified instructors. School districts however, are often financially limited in their ability to either purchase expensive automated equipment and software or hire additional dispatchers to work off-hours in order to process absence information on a 24/7 basis.
Several companies have attempted to solve these and other problems using automated telephone calling systems. For example the two largest, TSSI, Inc. (tssint.com) and CRS, Inc. (crs-ivr.com) have developed Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone calling systems designed to automate the reporting of absences and dispatching of substitutes using touch tone phones. While these systems are designed to work 24/7 without constant administrative personnel (district dispatchers), unlike the present invention, they do require significant capitalization funds. District owned systems require several thousands of dollars to install on-site, local computers, backup power systems, dedicated phone lines (1 to an average a maximum of 8), maintenance equipment, and specialized voice cards that convert data into speech. IVR systems are also limited in transacting absence information by the number of phone lines available, i.e. 4 for an average district's budget. Unlike the present invention, processing transactions becomes especially acute in the mornings. Because of the short window of time before classes start each day, the limited number of phone lines increase busy signals and time delays.
Also unlike the present invention, phone (IVR) calling systems must automatically contact just one substitute at a time going through a generated list of substitutes. IVR systems may often take hours to finally contact a substitute that will accept the position.
Some IVR systems also require school sites to phone in to the system to receive summaries of who is absent that day and who to expect as a substitute. Faxes from the district office are often delayed and thus are not in “real time.” Neither are e-mail summary reports also from the district offices.
Another problem with automated IVR systems is the giving and receiving of specific instructions regarding the absence day/s (lesson plans). IVR systems only allow the substitute to hear a short, 1 to 2 minute voice message, left by the absent employee. Unlike the present invention, the information and directions often have to be written down by the substitute.
Most IVR systems also require users to contact the district office personnel during regular office hours to change personal information such as work availability or unavailability, contact information, job title preferences and job areas and locations willing to work.
Another large expense item for school districts using automated IVR systems is the on-site training of substitutes and employees on how best to use the IVR system. Unlike our present invention, this often requires district paid meetings and comprehensive directions manuals. Recently another company, Frontline Data, Inc. (aesoponline.com) has developed a system that includes a combination of IVR, Web based and “toll-free” phone calls. Unlike the present invention where all contacts to the system are via local phone company data connections, employees report absences and substitutes are contacted with the toll charges made indirectly to the school district.
In the highly competitive private sector, temporary employment agencies process temporary and “temp to hire” job orders from client companies including but not limited to the medical, legal, accounting and technical fields. Agencies must match, notify and place the appropriate temporary agency personnel into job positions. Those that are the most efficient in distributing job order information and placing their appropriate temporary personnel, will be the most successful. Previously, software companies have developed database systems to match and place temporary employees. Different from the present invention, these PC based software programs use telephone contact from the agency office/s and require agency staff employees during regular business hours. While employment agencies have for years used the Internet successfully to recruit “new hires” from the general public, this present invention is designed to actually place recruited pre-approved (tested and qualified) temporary and “temp-to-hire” agency personnel into matching skilled positions responding to job orders from client companies.
There is definitely a need for an expedited system to process absence/job information, update employee profiles 24/7 and contact/place qualified substitute teachers or temporary personnel.